PASADENA, Calif. – As Shakespeare once said, “Though she be but little, she is fierce.”
Yvette Isaac is a petite Egyptian American woman, with a massive mission to change the world. The Pasadena-based humanitarian mobilizes volunteers in SoCal to donate resources for refugees and Internally Displace People in the Middle East, impacted by ISIS.
“Because of the war, ISIS came, they just had missiles and bombs and many lost parts of their bodies, many children are there with no legs, lots of disabilities there,” said Isaac.
Isaac and her nonprofit organization, Roads of Success, are sending wheel chairs, among other items, to help Iraqi children injured by ISIS attacks. Isaac believes in the power of community, and her team of diverse volunteers, from military veterans to Latin immigrants, is evidence of just that.
“Different look, different skin color, different culture, but we all are one, and we need to keep that oneness,” Isaac said.
Isaac even secured a partnership with the military’s U.S. Air Force to help get the items delivered to the region. She believes anyone, of any background, can identify with the pain of a child in need.
“If this happened to my kids, I would want to know that there was a world, that cared about them,” Lucy Treadway said, a local volunteer.
Some volunteers gladly support locally, while others, like Eduardo Espirito Santo, a wellness expert, have also travelled abroad with the Roads of Success team. He is the founder of Ancient Gates, a wellness platform that uses Hebraic meditation practices to help survivors of war heal from mental and emotional trauma.
“I can testify that after meeting them, they are strong, they are resilient, and they need help to overcome these traumatic experiences because they’re not light,” Espirito Santo said.
While the emotional trauma can be heavy, Isaac continues to work locally and abroad. From Los Angeles to Iraq and from Iraq to Syria, her mission is to spread love even if the region remains dangerous.
“Love is just like the light, if you turn the light on, the darkness will flee away,” Isaac said.
With a team of likeminded volunteers who refuse to let fear stop them, Isaac believes, “We Are One.”
To help the Roads of Success team in aiding refugees in the Middle East through financial donations or volunteer services, click here.